Nightmares
by Astro Latte
Summary: After Steve tells little Vash and Knives scary stories, Knives is afraid of much more than the boogeyman.


**Nightmares**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Trigun.**

* * *

"And with his large metal pipe..." The large man pretended to hold an imaginary pipe in the air. "He swung and killed the little boys on contact."

The small blonde boys, who were the audience of this horrible tale, trembled and clung to each other.

"W-What happened n-n-next?" one of the boys asked through chattering teeth.

The man's eyes grew dark as he smirked, "Well...after the boy's bloodily corpses were found the police went after the man. However, he was never found. But legend has it...late at night you can still hear the boys' screams of pain."

The boys screamed when the door opened and showed a tall woman with light brown hair and glasses.

The woman sighed at the reactions of the boys, "Steve...are you telling the boys horror stories again? You know how they get."

Steve laughed loudly, "Oh c'mon Mary! It's not hurting them! Besides, the way Rem babies them too much and these stories should toughen them up! They have to stop being such wimps! Especially," He pointed to the twin with golden blonde hair. "That one."

"Hey!" Vash retorted, "I am not a baby!"

"No, but you're a mama's boy!"

"Shut up! I am not!"

"Yes you are. Thinking you're so special because she takes you to the Rec Room and teaches you about love and tranquility." Steve made a gagging noise. "It makes me sick! You're nothing but a pansy. At least your brother has _some_ balls! But deep down he's just like you...a little mama's boy."

"You're just jealous because your mother never paid attention to you." Knives mumbled under his breath.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY YOU LITTLE BRAT!" Steve yelled about to punch the small boy.

"STEVE THAT'S ENOUGH!"

The large man's rage suddenly subsided as a tall raven haired woman stood in the door way. Steve gulped as the woman quickly marched up to him with her hands on her hips, "How dare you! What kind of man tries to hit a poor defenseless child? It's disgraceful!"

Steve snorted, "Disgraceful, Rem? I'll tell you what's disgraceful!" He pointed to the boys. "Those _things_ are disgraceful! Look at them! They're growing far too fast to be considered anything but monsters! How can you tolerate them? They're disgusting!"

Rem turned around and took both boys by the hand and faced the man, "No Steve, I think it is _you_ who is disgusting." And with that she walked out to get the boys ready for bed like she did every night.

* * *

"Rem?"

"Yes Knives?" Rem answered while pulling back the comforter for the boy and watching him nestle underneath. Vash had already fallen into a deep sleep.

"Do you think of us as...monsters?"

Rem's eyes widened at the boy's comment. She really wished that he didn't have to hear that fight or deal with Steve's arrogance, but there are things in life you just can't change.

"No Knives, I do not."

"Then...what do you think of us as?" By now his words were nothing but a whisper.

Rem sat next to the boy on his bed and held him tight in her arms. "Angels. You and Vash are my little angels." She smiled down at him, "Don't let what Steve says upset you. You and Vash are a huge help around here and are so very special. The only reason he says those things is because he doesn't have any other reason to dislike you. You must never give him a reason to hate you and one day he'll come around. People can change Knives; even the most evil of people can turn good. They simply need to be shown the right way. Knives, you must show Steve that you and Vash are not monsters and he'll come around." She gave the boy a tight squeeze, "Okay?"

Knives nodded, "Yes."

"Good boy. Now go to sleep. Tomorrow is brand new day." She kissed Knives forehead and left, closing the door behind her.

* * *

Vash's tiny form was curled into a ball as he buried his head in his pillow. He had awaken in the middle of the night because of a nightmare brought on by Steve's story. Steve was chasing him and Knives with a metal pipe and had managed to kill Rem in the process. Vash knew it was only a dream but the fear he felt when Steve had chased him and when Rem was dead scared him beyond all belief. But he would not go crying to Rem's room. That would make him a cry baby, right? He would prove Steve wrong. He wasn't a whimp or a baby. He could handle a little fear.

He heard a noise from the outside world and clung to his pillow for dear life.

Okay, maybe he couldn't handle fear.

But he knew someone who could.

"Knives," he whispered into the dark. "Hey Knives, are you up?" He already knew the answer. He could feel that his brother had not gone to sleep and was on one of his all-night thinking sprees.

"Go to back to bed, Vash." came Knives' irritated voice from across the room.

"Hey Knives...if someone were to go into someone else's bed because they had a bad dream would that make them a whimp?" Vash asked, ignoring his brother's demand.

"Vash," The platinum haired boy sighed, "Don't let what that buffoon says bother you. He doesn't know what he's talking about and doesn't deserve the time of day from us. Do what you want to do and ignore his rants. He's nothing but a drunken fool."

Aqua met Blue when Vash had turned on his side to face his brother, "So it's okay?"

"Yes."

With that Vash sprinted up from his bed and began to make his way to the door and out to Rem's bedroom. However, the lack of company lead to Knives feeling very alone and forgotten. The older twin decided to follow his brother.

* * *

The boys creped into Rem's bedroom and stood at the side of her bed and Knives gently shook the young woman. "Rem? Rem? Are you awake?" he asked quietly.

The woman sat up slowly and began the rub the sleep out from her eyes, "Boys? What are you doing in here? You should be in bed."

"Can Knives and I sleep in your bed tonight? Um...Steve's story scared us..." Vash said with a small smile. Knives crossed his arms, why was Vash using the word "us"? It not like he would have nightmares from any dumb story that bum told them, even if he did have a feeling that those two boys in the story were meant to be him and Vash.

The woman smiled and patted both sides of her large bed for both boys to sleep on both side of her. The twins quickly jumped into the bed and snuggled into their surrogate mother.

"Rem?"

"Yes Knives."

"I love you."

* * *

**(AN: Since finals are finally over I have time to write some one-shots! I love Fanfics about Knives and Vash's childhood, so I decided to add one to the collection. I feel very accomplished. Please review! I really do live for them. They're like the little batteries that keep that energizer bunny going and going and going and going and going...)**


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